3 killed, 40 weapons stolen during gun range robbery

ATLANTA — Police searched Saturday for at least one armed attacker in connection with the killing of the owner of a gun range in Georgia and his wife and grandson, authorities said Saturday.

The Grantville Police Department said the robbery occurred Friday evening. When officers arrived at the scene around 8 p.m., they discovered the bodies of the owners of Lock Stock & Barrel Shooting Range. According to WSB-TV, police identified the victims as Thomas Hawk, 75; his wife, Evelyn, 75; and their grandson, Luke, 17.

No arrests had been made by Saturday, said Police Chief Steve Whitlock. Investigators said as many as 40 guns and the range’s surveillance camera were stolen.

Whitlock said the Hawk family was well known and well respected in its small, tight-knit community. The Hawks had operated Lock Stock & Barrel for nearly 30 years. Their grandson was on spring break, helping his grandparents at the shop.

“This is just a shock to everybody in the community,” Whitlock told the Associated Press. “We’re trying to do the best that we can to figure this out.”

Whitlock said investigators believe the robbery and shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Friday, which is when the range normally closes. He said Hawk’s son, Richard, came by the business and was the person who found the victims.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating, but when contacted Saturday referred all inquiries to Grantville police. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also called in because of the number of weapons taken. Whitlock said he’s grateful for the help from other law enforcement agencies in the investigation.

“We’re just a small town, 12 officers. I’ve been here eight years and have never had to investigate anything like this,” he said.

A reward of $15,000 has been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers in the case, according to the ATF Atlanta office’s Twitter feed.

“The brutality of these senseless murders along with the fact that these killer(s) have acquired additional firearms makes solving this case our top priority,” ATF Atlanta Field Division Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Gibbons said in a statement.

The shooting range is in rural Coweta County, about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta.